AWI Quarterly Term Archive

Quick Read

Florida Strengthens Animal Cruelty Law

Companion Animals

On March 23, National Puppy Day, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed “Ponce’s Law” to increase penalties for animal abusers. Named after a Labrador puppy found beaten to death, the new...

Insurer for Butterball Balks at Cleanup Coverage

Farmed Animals

Butterball, a major turkey producer in the United States, is in court over insurance coverage of a $3.5 million cleanup of pollution at a Carthage, Missouri, site. The insurer, Great...

Killing Oversight via the Cures Act

Animals in Laboratories

A law passed in 2016—the 21st Century Cures Act—has given the research industry the opening that it has sought to reduce oversight of the treatment of animals. This law requires...

Perdue to End Electric Stunning of Poultry

Farmed Animals

Perdue Farms has become the first major poultry producer in the United States to commit to adopting a process of stunning with gas, known as controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS), at...

Rotten Eggs: Iowa Contrives to Keep Hens Caged 

Farmed Animals

In March, Iowa enacted a law that will require most egg retailers in the state to continue carrying “conventional” eggs from hens raised in densely packed battery cages. Only those stores that...

Sanctuary Secured for Longsuffering Elephant

Terrestrial Wildlife

Nosey the elephant has not had an easy life. Born in Zimbabwe in 1982, she was stolen from her wild family at age 2 and brought to Florida. Purchased by...

USFWS Seeks Political Seats at the Science Table 

Terrestrial Wildlife

A leaked memo from the US Fish and Wildlife Service concerning how the agency plans to regulate endangered species listings under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could have severe impacts...

Appropriations Bills Pull Plug on Wildlife Protections

Terrestrial Wildlife

In September, the House passed HR 3354, an omnibus (bundled) spending bill that included four amendments to weaken the Endangered Species Act. Then, in November, the Senate Appropriations Committee’s draft...

House Majority Leader Asked to Move Key Bills 

With the second session of the 115th Congress well underway, AWI president Cathy Liss sent a letter to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) requesting support for these legislative priorities...

Pennsylvania, Texas Take Aim at Animal Cruelty

Companion Animals

Pennsylvania, long notorious for its weak repercussions for even the worst cases of abuse, took a giant leap forward when Governor Tom Wolf signed Libre’s Law. The state finally acted...